Of all the battles ever fought, perhaps the most notorious within the annals of the American military is the Battle of Little Bighorn, more memorably known as Custer’s Last Stand. It epitomized not just a disastrous engagement in the Indian Wars but has become an epoch-defining moment in Native American relations with the U.S. government. At the center of this historic confrontation, the 1873 Springfield Trapdoor Rifle represented its times and would be a weapon synonymous with the era.
The Springfield Model 1873, most familiarly known as the “Trapdoor” Springfield, was the standard-issue rifle to the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s. Erskine S. Allin developed this breech-loading rifle at the Springfield Armory; it used a .45-70 cartridge. This rifle had a breech-loading mechanism that was opened by a hinged lever resembling a trapdoor to allow the soldier to load one cartridge at a time. This design represented a huge advancement over the muzzle-loading rifles that were used during the Civil War.
However, the Springfield Trapdoor Rifle was not without its flaws. Of the most critical issues, the foremost was its reliance upon copper cartridges that expanded when heated, which made it hard to extract after firing. As soon as this problem manifested itself, it was quite evident at the Battle of Little Bighorn. As Trooper William C. Slaper of Company M, 7th Cavalry, recalled, he would have to cut out fired cases with a knife and then pass the reloaded rifle to a man on the firing line.
The Battle of Little Bighorn, June 25, 1876, pitted Custer and his 600 against a combined force of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. In opposition to the encroachment of the American colonists on their land and against the continuation of their culture, the Native American force had 3,000 warriors ready to fight. Because he believed in manifest destiny, he grossly underestimated the power and determination that stood in his way. By the battle’s end, all of Custer’s men, including himself lay dead.
Many historians and military historians have speculated that the defeat at Little Bighorn occurred partially because of the deficiencies of the Springfield Trapdoor Rifle. There is no denying that the jamming of rifles due to the expanding copper cartridges was a weakness when the battle grew hot. However, it must be noted that it was more because of the superior number and tactics of Native American forces that caused defeat.
Not that the Springfield Model 1873 was not without its merits. In a report, Brigadier General John Gibbon believed that this rifle was “first-rate…and probably the best thing that had ever been placed in the hands of troops.” This .45-70 cartridge was quite strong, capable of delivering a 405-grain projectile at a muzzle velocity of 1,350 feet per second. Such firepower made it effective both against people and horses.
In the following years after the Battle of Little Bighorn, the U.S. Army began to rectify the flaws of the Springfield Trapdoor Rifle. By 1882, the Ordnance Department had changed to brass cartridges that were easier to load and maintained their form after discharge, greatly increasing the reliability of this rifle.
Even with all its flaws, the Springfield Trapdoor Rifle remains an icon of the American West and the Indian Wars. Its place in the Battle of Little Bighorn brings to the fore the numerous tribulations the U.S. Army had to undergo and the great and bitter struggle of Native Americans for their land and lifestyle.